The invention relates to a method for operating a water-conducting domestic appliance, in particular a dishwasher, having a circulating pump and a water flow diverter that is associated with the circulating pump, in particular arranged downstream of the circulating pump, and has at least one control element that can be adjusted by a control element motor in order to change the direction of flow of a liquid through the water flow diverter, wherein the water-conducting domestic appliance is filled with a minimum quantity of filling water that can be circulated by the circulating pump and in a first step the water flow diverter is checked for malfunctions and in a second step it is checked by means of a true running test whether the size of the minimum quantity of filling water in the water-conducting domestic appliance corresponds at least to the size of a setpoint quantity of filling water required to ensure the true running of the circulating pump, wherein to check true running, at least one operational parameter of an electric motor driving the circulating pump is evaluated to ascertain whether it corresponds to true running of the circulating pump.
Water-conducting domestic appliances are supplied by way of a corresponding connector with water, to which detergents or rinse agents and optionally further agents are added in the domestic appliance and which is conveyed into a work chamber, in which items to be washed, for example dishes (dishwasher) or items of clothing (washing machine) are present. To keep water consumption low, the liquid introduced into the work chamber is collected during the wash operation and then conveyed back into the work chamber. Circulating pumps are provided for this purpose. With known domestic appliances a water flow diverter is associated with the circulating pump, being connected downstream in the flow direction in particular and serving to set flows of liquid or direct them in a desired direction. When used in a washing machine, water flow diverters serve for example to direct wash or rinse water for example into a first or second wash chamber of two wash chambers. When used in dishwashers, water flow diverters serve for example to conduct flows of wash water, also referred to as wash liquor, for example to a spray arm for an upper rack and/or to a spray arm for a lower rack. To this end the water flow diverters have at least one control element that can be moved by motor, by means of which different throughflow openings of the water flow diverter can be opened and/or closed by the control element in response to corresponding activation signals, to set the desired distribution of the flows of liquid. Water-conducting domestic appliances such as dishwashers run through wash programs in this process, said wash programs comprising a number of wash program steps, which each start with the dishwasher being filled with a minimum quantity of wash water and end with a pumping operation to convey the now dirty quantity of wash water out of the dishwasher. If the circulated quantity of wash water is smaller than the quantity required for reliable operation, for example because wash water collects in a glass or pot that is facing upward and can no longer be circulated, the result can be an unpleasant noise due to the pump taking in air or the cleaning and drying result may not be satisfactory.